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Update: Microsoft a Finalist for LinuxWorld Award

Microsoft's interoperability efforts got a credibility boost when the latest version of Services for Unix earned a nomination for best integration solution at a major Linux show.

SFU 3.5, released last week, was one of three finalists for the LinuxWorld Product Excellence Awards in the category of Best Integration Solution. The winner in the category, announced Wednesday afternoon at the IDG LinuxWorld Conference & Expo in New York, was BEA WebLogic Platform 8.1 from BEA Systems Inc.

The other nominee for the category was Enj Ports from BISIL North America Inc. Best Integration Solution was one of 11 categories for awards at the show, which began Tuesday and runs through Friday.

While Microsoft's product is not open source, the company's announcement that SFU 3.5 will be free probably helps with the Linux community. Microsoft charged $99 for SFU 3.0, although Microsoft began giving even the 3.0 version of the product away in October.

SFU functions mainly as an interoperability toolset for integrating Unix, Linux and Windows in enterprise networks. The many tools in SFU allow organizations to blend their platforms for single sign-on, file and print accessibility and administration. Microsoft also bills SFU as a Unix migration tool.

Other than the price, SFU 3.5's enhancements include support for Windows Server 2003, improved performance and new versions of many commonly used tools.

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.